


Cultural Exchange

by CrystalRebellion



Category: Voltron: Lion Force (1984)
Genre: Chocolates, Courtship, Cultural Traditions, Cultural connections, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Fluff, Learning to trust, and maybe a little more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 08:52:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18117452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalRebellion/pseuds/CrystalRebellion
Summary: When countless attempts to win Allura's heart have failed, Lotor finally turns his energy on a more innocuous approach; an Arusian custom of the presentation of a box of chocolates.  Fluff.  Oneshot.  Lotura.





	Cultural Exchange

“What’s he doing?”

Allura peered out the window while standing next to Coran.

“I… I believe he’s… waiting.”

She stared from the safety of the third-story floor, looking out the plate glass to the restless Drule pacing in a slow circle at her front gates.  He had knocked once and waited before knocking again, more insistently.

With no answer, he had taken to walking in a slow circle, showing no intention of leaving anytime soon.

Allura’s brow furrowed in concern.

“He’s never done that before.”

Coran just hummed in worried assent.

“He doesn’t appear to have any monsters or guards with him.”

“What is he waiting _ for? _ ”

As if he had heard her question, Lotor stilled and looked up.  In a moment, his eyes locked with hers through the window and Allura gasped.

She swallowed, her throat tightening as their eyes connected.

The span of a heartbeat felt like an entire eternity as she exhaled.

"Well, I suppose I should go see what he wants."

* * *

One of the two double doors guarding the entrance to her castle creaked open and Allura peered out warily.

"My sweet, you've finally come."

She flinched at the familiar voice and regarded the volatile man carefully.

"Why are you here?"

"Why, I bring you affection, of course.  Won't you let me come inside?"

A strange heat rolled down her spine lazily and Allura found herself wondering vaguely if he was still referring to her castle.

"I... don't think that's wise," she hedged.

His brow creased as he glanced past her into her castle, noting the tense form of Coran and the Arusian guardsmen flanking him.

"But I've brought you a gift," he insisted.

"Oh, oh no," she murmured, her body beginning to back into her castle.  "Please not more severed-  _ is that chocolate _ ?"

Her eyes popped wide as her frame stilled when he thrust a small, golden parcel toward her wordlessly.

"I... I don't understand, why-"

"Only the sweetest for my sweet."

Her brow furrowed skeptically and she eyed the landscaping behind him.

"I don't see any guards."

"I didn't bring any."

"Or robeasts," she added.

"None of those, either."

Suspicious eyes flickered back to meet his midas hues and he only grinned triumphantly in response, the offering still outstretched and hovering between them.

Coran released a strangled cry when the stubborn princess made up her mind and stepped outside, pulling the door shut behind her.

Her hands remained folded behind her back, spine pressed into the door as she stared at him with both the curiosity and fright that a wild animal might harbor.

"What do you want, Lotor?"

Her voice carried a timbre of trepidation but the Drule only gestured to the offering he presented.

"I've been informed that this is a proper courtship initiator for your people," he explained.  His lips parted as if he had something else to say, but he paused, a growl rumbling from the back of his throat instead, causing Allura's eyes to widen.

"Is there somewhere else we could speak?"  His eyes flickered from her to the door behind her.  "Your guardian is saying some rather unpleasant things about me to your guards."

A deep flush graced her cheeks in surprise.

"You... can hear them through the door?"

His eyes moved back to hers and he only tilted his head to the side, presenting one of his long, tapered ears to her and she flushed hotter at the unintelligence of her surprise.

"This way," she muttered in acquiescence, quick to move away from her embarrassment.

Allura peeled off the door and skirted around the edge of the castle, leading the way to the sheltered gardens.   Slipping past a gated entry, she paused before a bubbling fountain as the magnitude of what she had just done settled upon her.

Wheeling around, her pink and white gown flaring about her ankles, she came face to face with the rugged warlord.

Her breath caught at his proximity, her gown settling around her body after brushing against his in her quick turn, leaving electric tingles on her skin.

On instinct, she stepped back, eager to put some distance between them.  As she did, the back of her knees connected with the side of the stone basin holding the water.  She crumpled, letting her legs fold naturally as she came to rest on top of the wide ledge, her eyes never leaving Lotor's.

Wordlessly, he extended the gift to her once more.

Her heartrate hitched in tempo at the seemingly harmless gesture.  Her fingertips curled into the fabric of her gown in her lap as she recoiled slightly.

"I... don't think that I should," she admitted, her brow furrowed.  Her mind raced to unlock where the trap was, what master machinations the man had in the shadows, how he could possibly -

Allura jumped suddenly when the box slammed down on the stone beside her and she bolted away from the thunderous prince.

Something in the back of her mind stilled her flight several paces away, and hesitantly she turned to look back at him.  Fear clawed at her throat at the realization that there was a very probable chance he was already upon her and she should never have stopped running.

What she saw, however, defied all expectations.

Lotor hadn't moved.  He stared at the parcel as it sat on the ledge near the space she had rapidly vacated.  While his expression was stoic and unreadable, Allura couldn't find any anger on his face.  He almost appeared... forlorn.

"...Lotor?" Her voice was weak, the nervousness crippling her fortitude and she barely squeaked out his name.

In response, he only blinked slowly, his eyes never leaving the shimmering gift.

"You stopped running," he murmured, slowly turning his gaze to her.

"I... I don't know what's happening right now," she admitted, her skin vibrating with fight-or-flight response.

"Neither do I."

His tone had sharpened, but his stance remained relaxed as if he had no intention of pinning her down, and Allura's curiosity began to bloom through her fear.

"What do you mean by that, Lotor?"

"I don't," he paused, rubbing his palm over his face briefly.  "Just  _ tell me.   _ Tell me what you want, Allura.  I've built you temples, I've slain beasts - I'll bring you trophies and riches and jewels!"  Her heart stilled as his anger built, her eyes widening. "I'd topple kingdoms!  _ Clearly  _ none of that matters to you so I tried something that should and... nothing I do is  _ good enough _ !"

He grew quiet suddenly, his loud declaration echoing in the empty garden as he attempted to catch his breath, staring back at the box.

Allura licked her lips nervously, her pulse thundering in her ears.  Hesitantly, she crept back toward him before silently, slowly, easing herself back to the fountain's ledge, her wide eyes trained on his face for any hint of movement.

He continued to stand perfectly still, staring at the parcel as if it contained all the hatred in the world.  It wasn't until a slender pair of trembling hands daintily lifted the offering from its abandoned location and pulled it into her lap did he look to her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Okay," she whispered, no longer certain of her actions.  "Okay." The repeated phrase echoed with a little more strength, and she refused to take her eyes off his as her palms folded over the piece.  "I'm sorry."

The admission caused his eyebrows to rise and his entire expression softened.

"...what?"

"I said I'm sorry, Lotor.  You're... you're right. ...Will you join me?"  She nervously patted the ledge beside her as he stared in open awe at the wild, unpredictable princess.

A moment of hesitation passed between them before he carefully turned and eased himself down beside her.  Lotor's gaze never left hers, fully anticipating her to bolt at any moment.

She did not.

Allura offered him instead a weak smile before finally dropping her eyes down to study her present.  The container was sturdier than she had expected, thin metal plates courting the outside of it in a near-armored fashion, giving it the look of a small chest rather than a mere box.

Her smile curled slightly at the garish Drule presentation of the Arusian custom.  Her fingertips glided along the ornamental finishes, a blush touching her cheeks at the delicate detailing.

"Thank you," she said at last, drawing an exhale from the prince at her side.

"Will you open it?"

She could feel the intensity of his gaze upon her and could not bring herself to meet it.  Everywhere his eyes touched, her skin burned. She knew when he was watching her hands touch the scrollwork and she could tell when he studied her expression, even with her head canted away from him.

Her chest tightened in nervousness: a familiar reflex with unfamiliar indicators.  Adrenaline didn't pound through her blood and urge her muscles to tense, to prepare to defend or flee.  Instead, a strange, feathery sensation coiled down her spine and settled against her bones. Her skin warmed in a strange way that could only be described as... giddy.

She bit down on her bottom lip apprehensively and nodded once, no longer trusting her voice to articulate her words.

Her fingers trembled with the latch, struggling to understand the foreign mechanism.  On her third try, a pair of large, gloved hands -  _ warm _ , she thought stiffly - folded over her own and aided her before retreating once more.

Several seconds rolled by before she had regained control of her heart at the touch and she deftly eased the lid open.

Allura blinked.

"Oh my," she whispered, awed.

Nestled on a bed of pooled satin, at least a dozen perfectly crafted spheres of chocolate rested.  While they varied in shades indicating an assortment of strength, they all shared the trait of immaculate presentation.

Delicately, her hands slid down the sides of the lid to grasp the casing for more stability, hoping to hide the tremble in her grasp.

"They're beautiful," Allura murmured after a moment.

Her body tensed as she felt the unadulterated pride just  _ rolling  _ off the warlord at her side, but the usually-arrogant man stayed blissfully silent.

Allura's expression hardened suddenly and she slowly closed the lid before schooling her courage and turning to face him carefully.

"Why?"

Lotor bristled at the skepticism in her voice, but he answered gently just the same.

"As the customary courtship practices didn't seem to be working, I decided to try one of yours," he explained calmly.

She blinked as confusion clouded over her expression.

When her silence stretched on, he shifted, turning to face her fully on the stone seat.

"Won't you try one?"

Wariness crept back into her expression and Lotor slid closer until his hip brushed hers, calmly and slowly reaching toward the case in her lap.

"They're poisoned," she whispered with sudden alarm.

The prince stilled, his thumbs resting over the latch as he sighed, muted exasperation leaving with his exhale.

"I would never poison you, Allura."

"Drugs then, a potion?"

He raised his golden eyes to meet her frightened blue ones, staring up at him with open alarm as if she had just realized how incredibly  _ close  _ she had allowed him to get.

"No," he explained gently.  "Simply chocolates."

The sound of the latch popping caused her to jump slightly.  Her gaze fell away from his, looking down to his large hands dwarfing her lap.  With an unusual reverence, his left hand curled about his right and he slowly removed the glove from his hand.

"Since I've indulged in one of your traditions, permit me to now indulge of one of my own," he murmured.

Allura swallowed at the sly tone of his voice.

"That depends on what it is," she clipped out nervously.

"Nothing carnal, I assure you."  His hand hovered over the box and he deftly lifted a single truffle out, bringing it to his eyes to inspect.  Satisfied with its perfection, Lotor's wicked gaze snapped to her own, his smirk widening.

"...Lotor?"

"Permit me to feed you," he replied simply, placing the truffle at her lips.

To his credit, he had timed the motion flawlessly.  Allura's skin turned bright red and her jaw dropped open in surprise just as he pressed the small ball of chocolate past her lips.

Realizing what he had done, her palm slapped over her mouth and she did the only thing she could think of - she consumed the offering.

"Excellent," he praised quietly, deepening her blush.

Allura quickly finished chewing and swallowed heavily under his gaze.

"See? No poison," he teased her gently, the hint of his fangs flashing at the edges of his lips, his grin unmistakably proud.

"Indeed," she replied nervously, dropping her hand back to her lap.

"How was it?"

Lotor's eyes glittered dangerously, his desire barely contained behind a wall of resistance.

She nodded once, licking her lips.

"It was good," she hedged, wary of baiting his ego.  But as the flavor of the decadent dessert lingered on her tongue, she surrendered to honesty.  "Perhaps one of the most wonderful things I've ever tasted."

Allura's eyes shot to him, a guarded expression overcoming her as she braced for his victory taunt.  Instead, she met a very genuine mirth.

"Have another, then," he nearly purred, drawing another sweet sphere to her lips.

"Oh no, I couldn’t-"

Once more, as her lips opened in protest, he popped the candy into her mouth in true, Drule fashion, earning him an annoyed growl from the back of her throat as she covered her lips again shyly. 

A new shade of pink flushed over her skin as she scowled, quickly finishing the truffle.  Her palm remained over her lips, shielding them from another of his devious advances.

“You know it’s quite rude to watch a girl eat,” she chastised from behind her delicate fingers.

A deep laugh echoed from him, a strange, enchanted light glinting from behind his eyes, causing Allura to purse her lips together in irritation.

“Fine then,” she challenged, dropping her hand to lift a chocolate of her own and extend it out toward him.  “You have to eat one, too.”

As Allura brought the morsel to his lips, Lotor’s hand closed sharply around her dainty wrist, causing her eyes to pop wide in surprise.

A curious, haunted look flickered over his features, his eyes glancing from the offering to her and back again.

“I can’t let you do that, Allura.”

The most catastrophic scenarios ran through her mind at the words and she felt the blood drain from her face.  Perhaps it  _ was _ some sort of sedative, or toxin, or-

“Not if you don’t know what that means,” he added, sensing her panic.  Deftly, he took the candy from her grasp and popped it into his own mouth before releasing her hand.

Her alarm cooled as he, too, consumed the peace offering, and her curiosity rose.  The strange, subdued mannerisms of the often-temperamental warlord had her slowly easing into a comfortable camaraderie.

“What… does it mean, Lotor?”

A shiver rolled down Allura’s back at the wicked smirk that slowly split across his face with the ease of a master predator.  Wordlessly, he plucked another delight from her lap and extended it to her.

Instead of rushing it past her lips at the first opportunity, he merely held it suspended between them, only a few breaths between it and her.

“Have another and I’ll tell you.”

Allura’s eyes darted skeptically between him and the sweet.  Lotor tutted softly as she shifted her weight and began to lift her hand up to take it from him.  She pouted.

“Surely you don’t mean for me to-”

“I do, my dear, I absolutely do.”

She inhaled sharply, glancing nervously between him and his hand.  When she hesitated, he continued.

“Unless you don’t want the answer.”

Swallowing her pride, Allura leaned toward him, closing the distance between them.  She missed the utterly feral expression that crossed the prince’s face as her lips closed around his fingers, drawing the delicacy into her.

“When a warrior feeds his Chosen,” he began catching the surprised look on her face at his parlance.  “It’s not just food. It’s a _ promise. _ ”  She stilled in the chewing of the chocolate and simply stared at him in wonderment.

Allura swallowed, clearing her mouth politely before she spoke.

“A promise?”

“It’s a promise from me to you, Allura.  To protect and provide. By my own hand, I vow to give you everything you ever want, need or crave.”

A heavy silence settled between them and her eyes dropped back to the open box of chocolates in her lap.   More than a treat. More than an attempt to bridge the gap between their cultures.

It was a box of vows and oaths.

Her hands trembled slightly and she balled them into fists to hide the tremor as Lotor leaned closer, his lips brushing against her ear as he spoke.

“All of this, for you, my beloved.”

Allura wasn’t sure how much time had passed as she stared at the suddenly heavy parcel pressed against her thighs. It wasn’t until she felt the dominating presence to her right ease as Lotor rose to his feet that she snapped out of her trance.

“W… what?”

“It’s time for me to take my leave.”

She blinked.

Lotor’s ear twitched slightly, his attention turning in the direction of her castle.

“Your commander has grown too worried and is coming to check on you.”

As he turned and began making his way to his personal spacecraft, the numbness in her veins thawed completely.

“Lotor, wait!”

She rose to her feet abruptly, frowning as he stilled in his tracks to turn and glance back to her.

Allura pressed the lid of the box clutched in front of her, her knuckles nearly white from how tightly she grasped the suddenly precious cache.

“How many?” Her voice quivered.

“What?”

“How many others, Lotor?  …have you… have…”

That dangerous, knowing grin once more spread across his lips and he shook his head in understanding.

“I have never fed another from my hand before you, Allura.  And there will be no other now,” he promised darkly.

Heat flushed her body from her nose to her toes as he did something she had never seen him do before: he turned and walked away, leaving her in stunned silence.

“Princess!”

Numbly, Allura turned to face Keith as he burst into the gardens, his worried eyes quickly skimming her form.

“Are you alright? Where is that snake?”

“He’s left, Keith.”

Her words were flat, the impact of the situation still settling upon her.

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

In response, she reached up and touched the pads of her fingertips to her bottom lip, still reeling from the intimacy of the chaste moment they had shared.

Allura’s hands tightened around the priceless gift, clutching it against her chest.

“No,” she said, biting back the impish smile that begged to stretch across her face.  “No, I’m fine. He was… quite the noble prince today, of all things,” she admitted softly.

Without waiting for Keith’s reaction, she deftly breezed past him, intent on returning to her room.

She had quite a bit to mull over, a new bloom of understanding nestled between her palms. 


End file.
